WWE News and Rumor Roundup: Paul Heyman brings up Bray Wyatt in spoiler for Roman Reigns’ Survivor Series match, trouble with WrestleMania 38 ticket sales (November 17th, 2021)

We are back with another exciting edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE News and Rumor Roundup. We came across arrogant claims concerning Survivor Series, reports about WrestleMania 38, and the overlap between the superstars' real lives and kayfabe.

Here, we look at the biggest stories that have dominated headlines over the last 24 hours. So, without further ado, let's begin.

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#5 Paul Heyman mentions Bray Wyatt while discussing WWE Survivor Series spoiler

Roman Reigns is set to face Big E at Survivor Series this weekend. As the two top champions from SmackDown and RAW prepare to battle for brand supremacy, Paul Heyman has disclosed the 'spoiler' for the upcoming match in his usual fashion. He praised Big E for his in-ring abilities but assured that The Tribal Chief would walk out with a victory at the upcoming pay-per-view.

"I don't really assume Roman Reigns is going to win, I will speak about this as if the finish is predetermined. Roman Reigns is going to smash Big E, and that's not an assumption, a presumption, or even a prediction. It's a spoiler," Paul explained. "Big E is great and probably the second most formidable talent in all of WWE, hence the fact he's the WWE Champion. And he's going to get his ass kicked, he's going to get smashed. He's going to get smashed by Roman Reigns and there's no shame in being smashed by Roman Reigns."

Heyman named everyone that Roman Reigns has 'smashed' since his heel turn, including former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt. He mentioned how The Fiend lost against the reigning Universal Champion and left the company before mentioning others who went down the same path.

He also made a note of all the veterans who tried to put a stop to Reigns' dominance but failed. He was quoted saying:

"Look whose been smashed by Roman Reigns in the last 12/14 months: "The Fiend" was smashed by Roman Reigns and is gone from WWE. Braun Strowman was smashed by Roman Reigns and is gone from WWE. Kevin Owens was smashed by Roman Reigns. Edge and Daniel Bryan — Hall of Famer and guaranteed Hall of Famer — smashed by Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, stacked on top of each other in the most declaratively dominant pinfall in the history of WrestleMania main events. Cesaro, smashed by Roman Reigns, Edge again in a singles match, smashed by Roman Reigns."

"Daniel Bryan, smashed by Roman Reigns and banished from SmackDown in the process. John Cena, smashed by Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. And then at Crown Jewel, Brock Lesnar of all people — oh my God, Brock Lesnar — smashed by Roman Reigns in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. Big E? A great talent, amazing. Nobody on RAW can touch him. Anybody that goes up against Big E on RAW is going to get their ass handed to them. Big E is going to get his ass kicked and smashed at Survivor Series, and there's no shame in it," said Heyman.

Paul Heyman has been by the side of Roman Reigns ever since he turned heel. He has been extremely entertaining in the role of Reigns' advisor. He has even played a key role in the latter's recent feud with Brock Lesnar.

While Heyman is confident about The Tribal Chief's match against Big E, it will be exciting to see his stance once The Beast Incarnate returns next month.

#4 WWE reportedly struggling with WrestleMania 38 ticket sales

WWE is set to continue with the two-night format for WrestleMania 38 next year. The recent reports suggest that the company is not close to meeting its expected numbers in terms of ticket sales.

The price of the tickets could be one of the factors behind it, but comparisons are being drawn to the 2016 edition of WrestleMania, which was held at the same venue.

"Mania tickets, I don't have a number but you could tell from the push really hard and everything like that [that they are] far far far far far from a sellout. I didn't expect it would be this quick. The first time they went to AT&T Stadium, it actually didn't sell out until a week out and that was for one show…I know that the number was lower than they expected."

"It's funny because when I talked with them a couple of weeks ago, [they said] because we're gonna do two shows, we're gonna make it pricewise easier. And they did not do that and that may have been a mistake. I mean the price is really high, high enough to scare people away. There is a certain thing that you can charge more money for WrestleMania than any other show but there is a limit on everything as far as how much you can charge," stated the report.

WrestleMania 32 recorded the highest attendance in the history of WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the year. Reports at the time stated that Vince McMahon's company sold over 100,000 tickets, but other publications later disputed those claims.

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#3 Ric Flair takes a shot at Becky Lynch for her RAW promo against Charlotte Flair

This week, Becky Lynch made a strong statement on RAW as she promised to humble her former best friend and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series.

Her words didn't sit well with Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who was quick to take a shot at Big Time Becks in response to her promo. He made his feelings known with a not-so-subtle tweet after the show.

"I think I'm going to have to make the trip personally to see you beat the piss out of Charlotte! I don't think so sister, The Man, Big Time Becks, or whatever you call yourself. There's not enough choreography in the business to save you Becky Lynch," wrote Ric Flair.

Latest backstage updates suggest that Lynch and Flair have been involved in a real-life rift. The two superstars have further flamed the stories with their words and actions on WWE television and otherwise.

#2 R-Truth reveals his real-life relationship with Vince McMahon in WWE

WWE Superstar R-Truth recently opened up about his backstage relationship with Vince McMahon and revealed that the latter has always been supportive. He said that Vince likes to be entertained and has helped out the 53-time 24/7 Champion with his personal issues.

Truth admitted that his current relationship with his boss is better than he could have asked for before saying WWE is his home.

“Vince supports me in everything I do. That’s one of the good things about it,” he admitted. “I’ve always had that support with them. Not just because of my tenure there, it’s just because they’ve always supported me in anything I’ve done. That’s like my home.”

“Me and Vince are cool. I miss those, we call them, ‘handshake tours’ to visit the troops overseas way before COVID,” Truth said. “We have a real cool relationship. I see Vince in sweats sometimes, sweatpants. Yeah, he’s the boss. He’s one of the coolest guys. I’m laughing when he makes me laugh. He loves being entertained. He’s cool. Vince has helped me out personally before too. Our relationship, man, is better than I could ask for.”

R-Truth also revealed that Vince McMahon advised him to be true to himself. He said that it has helped him bring a big part of Ron Killings to his on-screen persona, making the experience entertaining for both him and his viewers.

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#1 Seth Rollins reacts to the latest picture of Becky Lynch with Big E

WWE Champion Big E was recently spotted with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at Barclays Center for the Warriors vs. Nets game. Several fans immediately shared the video on Twitter, and Seth Rollins was quick to notice.

He immediately reacted to a video of his wife hanging out with his biggest nemesis with an interesting response.

The GIF showing a move of chess seemingly implied that he is ahead of the WWE Champion in mind-games. While Rollins and Lynch rarely appear on screen together, The Architect’s cheeky reply played out well for his current gimmick.

After Survivor Series, he is expected to challenge Big E for the latter's title, but that has not held him back from playing tricks on the New Day member. Before that, Rollins hopes to lead Team RAW to victory at the pay-per-view in the traditional five-on-five elimination match.